Pile wire for looms



- Feb; 24, 1959 Filed Feb. 8. 1957 H. w. BALLARD PILE WIRE FOR LOOMS FIG.5: ,z

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INVENTOR:

Feb. 24, 1959 :H. w. BALLARD ,3 2

I 4 FILE WIRE FOR LOOMS Filed Feb, .8; 1957 s Sheets-Sheet '2 I I 1/2 I .2 3% Z0 33 INVENTOR= 50 59 a gQ/. W

United States Patent L 2,874,725 PILE WIRE non LooMs Hyde W. Ballard, West Chester, Pa., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania 1 Application February 8, 1957, Serial No. 639,133 1 Claims. c1.- 139-44 This invention relates to wires for use in pile wire looms and more particularly to a pile wire having a non-uniform upper edge sometimes called a profile wire.

In a loom of the type shown in United States Patent No. 2,715,918, issued August 23, 1955 to Eisler and Moxley, a single wire is used for forming a looppile fabric. Where it is desired, however, to provide pile either cut or uncut of non-uniform height with a single wire, some expedient must be employed to maintain the initially formed loop height during the time that the wire is being withdrawn. Otherwise, the loops will all be drawn to the height of the highest part of the wire which must pass through the loops.

The primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a wire for forming various pile heights in a single wire fabric loom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cornposite pile wire in which an upper profile edge is retractable to permit the wire to be withdrawn after the warp ends have been formed over the wire.

A further object is to provide in a pile wire of the type described, a non-cutting profile wire,

A still further object is toprovide in a wire of the type described a cutting or partially cutting wire.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view of a Wire constructed in accordance with the present invention in its collapsed or retra'cted. position,

Fig. 2 shows the wire of Fig. 1 in its extended or pile forming position,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section as seen at 3-3 of Fig. 2, r

Fig. 4 is a top view of a portion of Fig.2,

j 2,874,725 Patented Feb. 24, 1959 'ice longitudinally therein between defined limits. When the wire is inserted into the shed and the pile heddles reverse, a series of low and high loops will be formed over the profiled upper edge which has been extended to its raised position by reason of its being inserted by the wire motion. After the sheds have again changed, and a shot of weft beaten up, the wire is collapsed just as it is starting to be withdrawn, which drops the profile upper edge down into a sheath having a smooth upper surface over which the warp loops readily pass. To prevent streaks or aligned warpwise ridges of high and low loops, it is desirable to employ a wire motion which alternately inserts the wire into the shed to varying depths.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the pile wire constructed in accordance with the present in vention comprises a sheath 25 having a customary curved tip 26'which is substantially solid. The main body portion of the sheath is trough-like and slidably contains a pile forming member 27 which has a series of undulating or raised flats a, b, and c on its upper edge. The element 27 is conveniently slotted on a bias at 28, 28 and retained in the sheath 25 by pins or rivets 29, 29 extending through the slots 28. The length and angle of bias of slots 28 is such that when the element 27 is collapsed by movement to the right as seen in Fig. 2, the raised areas a, b, and c are retracted or concealed within the sides 30, 30 of the sheath. The outer extremity of element 27 is beveled as shown at 31 in Fig. 5, so that this beveled edge likewise rides on a cam slope 32 until the tip 33 of the element 27 abuts a stop 34. .This construction is helpful in eliminating excessive wear and jar on the pins 29, 29.

Referring now to Figs. 8-13, the inner end of element 27 is providedwith an upwardly extending lug 35 which engages a notch 36 in the wire head 37. Wire head 37 is slidably retained in the sheath 25 by means of pins Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view show- Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail, partly sectional, of the r head of the wire as shown in Fig. 2,

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section as 'seenfatdl-ll of Fig. 8,

Fig. 12 is an enlarged section Fig. 10,

Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective showing the various parts comprisingthe head of the wire,

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary view of a part of the 106m and the wire motion,

Fig. 15 is a side view of the structure of Fig. 14, and Figs. 16-19 show difierent positions in the engaging and disengaging of the latch"for thewire head. V

The invention comprises essentially the provision of} a dual or composite pile wire in which the main portion of the wire'formsa sheath or carrier for a movable top as seen 'at 1 2-12 of surface or edge which I is connected :to the headand slides 38, 38 which extend through slots 39, 39 in head 37. The sheath 25 is extended upwardly to form an inner abutment 40 andan outer abutment 41 which limit the sliding motion of the head 37. As will be seen in Figs. 2 and 10, when the head 37 is pushed inwardly to strike abutment 40, element 27 is raised forwardly and upwardly from the sheath. Ample clearance is provided in'notch 36 between the lug 35 and the head when the element 27 is raised. As the wire is withdrawn, a-latch pin 45 is guided by cam surface 46 into a notch 47 to withdraw the wire, but the first pull in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8 collapses the member 27 into the sheath 25, so that when the outer edge of head 37 strikes abutment 41, the wire has been collapsed and can be withdrawn to i leave loops of various heights in the fabric. Alternatively, it is possible to use a knife or blade 48 (Fig.7) which cuts all or'some of the loops as the wire is' withdrawn, thus providing high and low cut fabric or cut and uncut with variations. I

Referring nowmore particularly to Figs. 14-19, mechanism for positioning the wire at dilferent points within the shed will be described. A needle raceway'55 is provided having a lower slide 56 and 'an upper slide 57 to which a retaining slide 58 is secured. The needle head or carrier 59issecured to a gib 60 which carries the needle 61 and the :wire cable connectors 62, 62 under control of the usual loom motion which oscillatesthe needle carrierback and forth by' means of the cable 65 carried around the sheave 66 and the conventional actuating connectionsnot 1 shown.

The needle 61 is guided by an upper roller 67 and a lower roller 68and is used to carrydouble weft shots into andjthrough. the shed of a fabric in accordance with conventional practice. A, second raceway70 is secured to raceway 55 by meansot spacers 71, 71 and the upper edge 3 of raceway 70 is milled to slidably support and guide the pile wire. The pile wire head 37 is provided with a recess or notch 47 and a cam surface 46. The needle head 59 also carries a pivoting latch v80 which is normally held in a downward position by means of an extension spring 81 (Fig. 17). The latch assembly 80 includes a pin-45 or similar extension which is in alignment or overhangs the wire 25 and is of such shape that it will ride up'the incline 46 and into notch 47 to push the wire 25 into the shed by contact with stop 40 or to withdraw the wire from the shed when the head 37 engages the rear stop 41. Alternatively, the notch 47 may be masked so that the pin 45 overrides notch 47, thus permitting the wire to remain in the shed. a The wire motion is controlled by means of eamshaft 85 (Fig. 15) which in turn drives a special latch cam 86 through shaft 87 and beveled gears 88 and89 which in the form illustrated in Figs. 14 and 15 have a 2-1 ratio so that cam 86 makes one half turn for every turn of camshaft 85. A pivoting-lever 90 is provided with a cam follower roller 91 and is connected at its upper end to the slidable abutment assembly 92 through a link 93. Lever 90 is pivoted at 94 under control of extension spring 95. The abutment assembly 92 shown more clearly in Figs. 16-19 comprises a body 100 slidable on way 101 and connected to link 93 by pin 102. The upper edge of body 100 carries a stop or abutment 103 against which the forward face 104 of wire head 37 impinges when the wire is inserted. The body member 100 is also provided with a side 106 having inclined face 107 which serves as a mask to elevate latch 80 and to prevent the pin 45 from locking in notch 47 as illustrated in Fig. 17. This action may be necessary whenever'the needle must override and also to prevent the latch from picking up the wire and withdrawing it every time the carrier 59 is retracted.

The position of the abutment 92 is controlled by latch cam 86 whichin turn actuates lever 90 through'cam follower 91. A cycle of operation is shown in detail in'the following table:

Needle Latch Cam Carn- Position Wire Positlon shalt Fig.

Per Angle, Degree Angle, Condegrees degrees tact in-long-couple G 0 17 out 40 H 80 out 45 D 90 89111-31101t7l11300111318 ,80 D I 160 16 in-short-overrlde- 90 D 180 18 in-s ort t 135 D 270 in-latch override 180' r I .3b0 $6 out-couple at short 185 E 370 position.

225 J 450 270 h 540 16 315 A '630 g 330 F 660 in-long-couple 860 G 720 17 In short, the sequence comprises inserting the needle 61 and wire during the latch cam contact are D (Fig'.

14). During this time abutment assembly 92 is carried to its short position by the high lift portion of cam 86. When the wire contacts the abutment 103, surface 107 has raised latch 80 to permit it to ride over notch 47; The abutment assembly 92 remains in the same position tomask the notch 47 in the wire head when the carrier 59 reverses, thereby leaving the wire in the shed and against abutment 103. After the needle is completely retracted the sheds change, thus binding the wire 25 .in the short position whereupon cam 86 has turned to present contact area E to the cam follower 91. This, however, occurs after the latch has come in again and is returning frornits override position shown in Fig. '18. With the carn', or masking surface 107 withdrawn from its position in alignment with notch 47, pin drops into thenoteh toqonpl the carrier 59 with the wire head 37 at the ShOItyPQSltiQI'l and t er to w th r h i from he sh d- 91.1 the r rf a next insertion the wire 25 is carried all the way in to its long or maximum position because the abutment 9,2 is positioned to uncouple the wire by means of latch cam contact area A. After uncoupling, which presumably involves a slight amount of override, the needle is retracted, the sheds change, and the needle is inserted again at approximately position F in Fig. 14. Since it is necessary to unmask the notch 47, earn '86 carries the abutment 92 and the sloping cam 107 to a maximum displaced position (G on cam 86) to permit the latch 82 to couple to the wire at the maximum in position.' This completes the cycle of operation for a two-shot fabric, and it will be apparent that a suitable change in the'shape of cam 86 and/or the ratio of gears 88 and 89 permits the use of a non-uniform wire with any fabric construction. Fig. 16 shows the relative position of the cam surface 107 and the wire head which occur at uncoupling or when the .notch 47jis masked to prevent coupling 0.11 a return stroke. Fig. 17 illustrates the relative positions at coupling when the notchiis unmasked, such as at position G in Fig. 14. Fig. 1f) would illustrate the latch just before coupling at position I. Fig. 18 shows the overriding of the carrier and its latch to uncouple the wire at the short position. Obviou'sly, uncoupling and coupling may be arranged at a plurality of different positions by changing the design of cam 86. Such would give even more varied effects with certain types of serrated or wavy wires.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A wire for a pile fabric loom comprising a first body member having a relatively smooth upper edge, a second pile forming member secured to and collapsible with respect to said first body member, a profile edge on said pile forming member, and a head engageable with the pile forming member for elevating and collapsing the pile forming member with respect to the body member.

2. A wire in accordance with claim 1 in which the first body member has 'a pair of sides enclosing the pile forming member and the profile edge when in collapsed position.

3. A wire in accordance with claim 2 having a plurality of biased slots in one of said members, and pins anchored in the other of said members which extend through said slots and control the elevating and col lapsing of the members when they are moved longitudinally with respect to each other.

4. A wire in accordance with claim 2 in which the body member is provided with a cam surface against which the end of the pile forming member slides to guide the elevating and collapsing of the pile forming memher with respect to the body member when said members are moved longitudinally with respect to each other.

5. A wire in accordance with claim 1 having two abutments for limiting the relative movement of the body member and the pile forming member.

6. In a single wire pile fabric loom the combination which comprises a composite pile wire, amask for said pile wire, a profile upper edge on said pile wire, means for elevating and collapsing the pile wire and the mask to selectively present an upper profile surface and smooth surface, and means for controlling the weftwise position of the composite wire in timed relation to the formation of a warp shed.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the pile wire having the profile upper surface is selectively engageable with the Wire inserting means to simultaneously elevate and collapse the upper surface with respect to the mask.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 6741.271 Rice ,Apr. 6, 1 954 2,715,918 Eisleret a1. t -A ug. :23. 1.955 2,758,613 Schmi z .c A s- .14. .1956 

